After 11th September 2001 otherwise known as 9/11, the USA changed; a paradigm shift, some people may call it. The whole nation changed. Policy was reversed, protocol was changed, systems were restructured, security was redefined, budget was reviewed, government was reorganized, laws were enacted, security forces were retooled, programs were reexamined, citizens became more cautious and aware of each other and the whole of United States of America declared WAR on Terror. ‘Taking the war to them’ became a slogan on the mouth of every American. The war had to fought at the terrorists’ front before they brought whatever it is they do, to US soil. Citizenry and the government alike had tasted terror and they knew better than to underestimate the enemy; better still they had a common enemy. According to the center for Defence Information, the estimated cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was $1.29 trillion by 2011, Pentagon’s base budget increased by 72% ($307 billion in 2001-$529 billion in 2011). Since then the United States has led the ‘Global War on Terror’.
Kenya seems not to have either gotten to that point or haven’t yet experienced terror in its rawest form. My thinking would be that we have seen even beyond what the US experienced. Why then is our reaction not commensurate to the magnitude of attacks we have faced? Ever we have ‘complained’ of the Al-Shabaab insurgency but have handled it as though some tourists from Somalia in a park that is Kenya have just misbehaved-ignoring the 'Do Not Feed the Giraffe' Notice! Sad, isn't it?. Grenade attacks, kidnaps and hostage situations all resulting in deaths, brutal deaths, have characterized these acts of ‘tourism’. How can we take such a matter lightly? Where is the synergy that should naturally arise from an apprehension of these heinous acts? It has been Kenyan culture, or so I have observed, that after a spate unfortunate events, either of crime or disaster, we take upon ourselves sackcloth for one week; mourning about the occurrence(s), complaining to no one in particular, apportioning blame to irrelevant persons and bodies, and directing our anger at everyone but ourselves. We do not get shaken by the murders, neither are we disturbed. We just get surprised and in many instances, if not all of them, have completely no understanding of the substance of the attacks aside from statistics. The country, (and I’ll forgive you for thinking I’m referring to the presidency or the government) should DECIDE to fight terror; for we’re yet to make that decision. I am not talking about a knee-jerk reaction (for we’re professionals at that), but a lasting resolve to fight terrorism and crime in general.
More often than not-and again I use the phrase sparingly-, we have turned tribal and political in handling insecurity. I do not intend to speak on behalf of any Kenyan but the degree and propensity to quickly and without thought turn to tribal and party lines points to nothing but selfishness; immaturity, stunted reasoning and unfortunately towards a society undeveloped. Don’t get me wrong, this is just on matters security and terrorism. Perhaps am overreacting. Perhaps these are just acts of irresponsible tourism. If they’re not then we as a country should get radical. Civil liberties do not protect us from the shattering effect from a bullet or disintegrating result from a terrorist’s gun or grenade. The Law (which I have come to understand is misunderstood by many) does not shield you from the barrel of a gun or from a deranged terrorist. Religion does not offer cover from flying bullets. Tribes do not and will never be the fortress to run to in escaping a lodged grenade. Our political parties will never be the apparatus we use to defeat committed criminals. Democracy cannot be used to in disguise, advance the course of terror.
Our presence in Somalia has come under criticism, but what would be the alternative? Sit on the fence and watch pirates and Shabaab militia render our country and neighbors hopeless? Definitely not! Would the situation have better if we hadn’t gone into Somalia? NO. AMISOM troops are in Somalia, together with our Kenya brothers and sisters fighting these maniacs at their front. We are definitely disadvantaged because of our positioning in relation to the warfront and as compared with other countries that have their troops in Somalia. The other possible disadvantage is our goodnaturedness that saw us host Somali citizens when their country was inhabitable. We interacted; they became friends, established businesses, got jobs and more specifically wove themselves into our fabric as society. They became part of us. Did that happen to Uganda, Rwanda, to Burundi or to other countries with their soldiers contributing to peace in Somalia? Of course not. The more reason why we need to take more proactive steps away from our traditional reasoning and fight this menace that threatens to tear the country into pieces.
So long as we continue to hold onto civil liberties (Am alive to the fact that this statement and any other connected to democracy and human rights is often misconstrued) as against each other rather than as against a common enemy-terror- then the country will continue to bleed. Security has been democratized. That is very unhealthy for any society. We complain of corruption plaguing the security apparatus but forget that these men and women serving in the disciplined forces are not so disciplined because the rock from which they are hewn is not so. Impunity has lost meaning in this country. It now refers to leaders IN GOVERNMENT being untouchable. Do you as an individual get away with things you shouldn’t? You got you answer and explanation right there. If the law, AS IS, prevents us from achieving peace, stability and unity then why even stick to it!? If concentration on civil liberties blind us from appreciating the role we as individual citizens and the government through security apparatus need to play in combating crime and terror, why insist on them? Calling for the resignation of so and so will solve nothing. It is not the government, its Al-Shabaab and definitely us. Should we resign for our failing as citizens? Another government would not be the solution, unless that government is Al-Shabaab in background.
Human nature sometimes creeps upon us especially when we are put in decisive positions. Our soldiers and police officers have often fallen to this as they sought to wipe out crime but this should not deter us from taking these deliberate measures. There are ways of dealing with that eventuality but then RADICAL steps have to be taken. If it means every worker or employee entering a building wearing a security badge then so be it. If it means drastic security measures-including thorough screening of people, luggage and belongings in public places, transport and recreational centers; which could come out as demeaning from some critics, then than is welcome. This is not irresponsible TOURISM but coordinated and cold-blood TERRORISM.SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE.